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Mackinac oil won't mix with water - the lifeblood of craft-brew business

mackinac bridge at sunset

The waters of the Straits of Mackinac at sunset. The writer says containment and cleanup of a rupture in the oil pipeline running beneath the straits would be beyond difficult, and alternatives must be sought.
(MLive files)

Rich Bergmann is managing partner of Round Lake Group LLC, which owns and operates the Lake Charlevoix Brewing Company.

Rich Bergmann

By Rich Bergmann

When I started the Lake Charlevoix Brewing Company, it was the Great Lakes that made it all possible. We draw our water from the Charlevoix Municipal System that is sourced directly from Lake Michigan. Water of the highest quality is what makes it possible for us to succeed and employ 65 people while helping build the economic base for Charlevoix and the surrounding area.

We selected Michigan for our company and specifically northwest Michigan for unmatched beauty and the elegant combination of Lake Michigan and its shoreline with the adjoining lakes, harbors and bays.

But as government agencies and Enbridge Energy Partners conduct oil spill drills this week in the Straits of Mackinac, I can't help but think my company is at risk from the two aging oil pipelines running through the turbulent Straits of Mackinac.

I've seen this movie before. I own homes in Southern California and southwest Florida, in addition to Michigan. I have witnessed first-hand the devastating impact of oil leaks from pipelines and drilling systems that were claimed to be safe and reliable. The impact on local businesses, communities and the environment has lasted years. The oil recovery capabilities and clean up process could not deal with the realities of spreading oil surface and on the bottom of oceans.

With the increasing age of Line 5, the increased pressure of the volume of oil being pumped through this aging infrastructure, the currents in the Straits of Mackinac, and the realities of winter ice that has reached 6-feet plus in thickness the last several years, containment and cleanup of a pipeline rupture would be beyond difficult, and the resources needed are not in the Straits area for a timely response.

Many of my fellow craft-brewing companies across the state rely on the same great Michigan water as I do. This foundation ingredient has allowed for fantastic growth in this new industry and enhanced Michigan as a tourism destination. Water is the lifeblood of this growing industry, and we do everything we can to protect it.

We have developed leading sustainability practices that efficiently manage our use of fresh water. We cooperate with local farms to repurpose all of our spent grains used in making our beers as well as the brewing effluent water. These practices are just part of our commitment to protecting this environmental treasure.

All of us need and use oil. But I believe there are viable alternatives that should be considered instead of routing it through our incredibly valuable assets of Lake Michigan and Lake Huron. Now is the time for the right thing to be done. We need to prevent a disaster, not hope we can clean one up when it happens.